Service awareness and seamless switchover between client based WiFi access and mobile data network access

ABSTRACT

A system and method provides seamless switchover of a user device (UE) between a mobile data network and a wireless network while providing policy and charging control (PCC) of the data session in the mobile data network. A mobile core network component is made ASF aware to process user data traffic related to an auto switching function (ASF) server from a UE client located on the UE using a special access point name (APN). The mobile core network component then uses a dedicated deep packet inspection (ASF DPI) for all data transfers to the special APN. The core network component is then able to process the UE data traffic seamlessly as the traffic is toggled between the ASF tunnel the WiFi tunnel. By monitoring the data traffic on the ASF tunnel, the core component (GGSN/PGW) is able to provide PCC for the data session.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure generally relates to mobile data systems, and morespecifically relates to a mobile data network with integrated WiFioffload to provide user equipment with seamless switchover between WiFiaccess and mobile data network access in a manner that is service awareand compliant with existing mobile data network functions.

2. Background Art

Mobile phones have evolved into “smart phones” that allow a user notonly to make a call, but also to access data, such as e-mails, theinternet, etc. Mobile phone networks have evolved as well to provide thedata services that new mobile devices require. For example, 3G networkscover most of the United States, and allow users high-speed wirelessdata access on their mobile devices. In addition, phones are not theonly devices that can access mobile data networks. Many mobile phonecompanies provide equipment and services that allow a subscriber to pluga mobile access card into a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on a laptopcomputer, and provide wireless internet to the laptop computer throughthe mobile data network. In addition, some newer mobile phones allow themobile phone to function as a wireless hotspot, which supportsconnecting several laptop computers or other wireless devices to themobile phone, which in turn provides data services via the mobile datanetwork. As time marches on, the amount of data served on mobile datanetworks will continue to rise exponentially.

Mobile data networks include very expensive hardware and software, soupgrading the capability of existing networks is not an easy thing todo. It is not economically feasible for a mobile network provider tosimply replace all older equipment with new equipment due to the expenseof replacing the equipment. To reduce data loading on mobile networks,mobile network providers are beginning to use various methods to offloadnetwork traffic from the mobile network. One method to offload data isto offload to a wireless local area network (WLAN), often referred to asa WiFi network, when a WiFi network is available. The various clientbased WiFi offloading techniques have problems such as supportingseamless switchover while providing policy based billing and quality ofservice (QoS) handling.

WiFi networks can be categorized as trusted or untrusted networks. Atrusted network is typically one that is owned by a carrier andintegrated into the carrier's mobile data network. An untrusted networkis one that is not owned and integrated by a carrier. A WiFi network cancharge a user for access to the network. This is typically done througha login to charge for the service or by recognizing a subscriberidentity module (SIM) on the user's device. The WiFi network typicallyis not able to provide policy and charging control (PCC) on a packetbasis for the data provided to the user over the WiFi network. The WiFinetwork typically is not integrated into a policy control point such asthe policy and charging rules function (PCRF) of the mobile data networkor to provide these services. Another drawback of WiFi offloading isseamless session mobility. A WiFi session is typically broken when theuser moves away from the WiFi access point or hotspot.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Described herein is a system and method for providing seamlessswitchover of user equipment (UE) between a mobile data network and awireless network while providing service aware and policy and chargingcontrol (PCC) of the data session in the mobile data network. A mobiledata core network component is made auto switching function (ASF) awareto process user data traffic related to an server from an ASF related UEclient located on the UE. The UE client opens a PDP context with aspecial access point name (APN) for data to be transferred through themobile data core network component to the ASF server on an ASF tunnelbased on GPRS Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U). The ASF server andthe UE client together determine whether to use the ASF tunnel on themobile data network or a WiFi tunnel on the WiFi network. The mobilecore network component then uses a dedicated deep packet inspection(DPI) for all data transfers via the special APN. By monitoring the datatraffic on the ASF tunnel, the mobile core component (GGSN/PGW) is ableto provide service aware PCC for the data session as the UE moves fromthe WiFi network to the mobile data network. The UE client is then ableto process the UE data traffic seamlessly as the traffic is toggledbetween the ASF tunnel and the WiFi tunnel.

The claims herein are directed to multiple generations of mobile datasystems. In a second or third generation (2G/3G) mobile data system, thecore network component is the Gateway GPRS (general packet radioservice) Support Node (GGSN). In long term evolution or 4^(th)generation (LTE/4G) mobile data system, the core component may be thePacket Data Network Gateway (PGW). The majority of the descriptionherein will address the 2G/3G architecture, however, it will be assumedthat any reference herein to a GGSN core network component will alsorefer to a PGW in an LTE/4G system. Of course, one of ordinary skill inthe art will readily appreciate the concepts herein can also be appliedto future implementations of mobile data networks that are not currentlyknown.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent fromthe following more particular description, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art mobile data network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile data network that provides serviceawareness and seamless switchover of a UE between a mobile data networkand a wireless network;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram that provides additional detail of the mobiledata network shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates the setup communication for afirst packet of data to setup for service awareness and seamlessswitchover;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for service awareness and seamlessswitchover in a mobile data network with a breakout system; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an LTE/4G mobile data network that providesservice awareness and seamless switchover of a UE between a mobile datanetwork and a wireless network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claims and disclosure herein provide mechanisms and methods forseamless switchover of user equipment (UE) between a mobile data networkand a wireless network while providing service aware policy and chargingcontrol (PCC) of the data session in the mobile data network. A mobiledata core network component is made auto switching function (ASF) awareto process user data traffic related to an ASF server from a UE clientlocated on the UE. The UE client opens a PDP context with a specialaccess point name (APN) for data to be transferred through the mobiledata core network to the ASF server on an ASF tunnel based on GPRSTunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U). The ASF server and the UE clienttogether determine whether to use the ASF tunnel (GTP U included) on themobile data network or a WiFi tunnel on the WiFi network. The mobilecore network component (GGSN/PGW) then uses a dedicated (ASF protocolspecific) DPI for all data transfers via the special APN. By monitoringthe data traffic on the ASF tunnel, the mobile core component (GGSN/PGW)is able to provide service aware PCC for the data session as the UEmoves from the WiFi network to the mobile data network. The UE client isthen able to process the UE data traffic seamlessly as the traffic istoggled between the ASF tunnel the WiFi tunnel.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art mobile data network 100 is shown.Mobile data network 100 is representative of known 3G networks. Themobile data network 100 preferably includes a radio access network (RAN)102, a mobile core network 104, and an external network 106, as shown inFIG. 1. The radio access network 102 includes the tower 120, basestation122 with its corresponding NodeB 130, and a radio interface on a radionetwork controller (RNC) 140. The core network 104 includes a networkinterface on the radio network controller 140, serving node 150, gatewaynode 160 and operator service network 170 (as part of the mobile datanetwork). The external network 106 includes any suitable network. Onesuitable example for an external network is the internet 180, as shownin the specific example in FIG. 1.

In mobile data network 100, user equipment 110A communicates via radiowaves to a tower 120. User equipment 110A may include any device capableof connecting to a mobile data network, including a mobile phone, atablet computer, a mobile access card coupled to a laptop computer, etc.The tower 120 communicates via network connection to a basestation 122.Each basestation 122 includes a NodeB 130, which communicates with thetower 120 and the radio network controller 140. Note there is a fan-outthat is not represented in FIG. 1. Typically there are tens of thousandsof towers 120. Each tower 120 typically has a corresponding base station122 with a NodeB 130 that communicates with the tower. However, networkcommunications with the tens of thousands of base stations 130 areperformed by hundreds of radio network controllers 140. Thus, each radionetwork controller 140 can service many NodeBs 130 in basestations 122.There may also be other items in the network between the basestation 130and the radio network controller 140 that are not shown in FIG. 1, suchas concentrators (points of concentration) or RAN aggregators thatsupport communications with many basestations.

The radio network controller 140 communicates with the serving node 150.In a typical 3G network, the serving node 150 is an SGSN, which is shortfor Service GPRS Support Node, where GPRS stands for general packetradio service. The serving node 150 mediates access to network resourceson behalf of mobile subscribers and implements the packet schedulingpolicy between different classes of quality of service. It is alsoresponsible for establishing the Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context withthe gateway node 160 for a given subscriber session. The serving node150 is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to thebasestations within its geographical service area. The tasks of theserving node 150 include packet routing and transfer, mobilitymanagement (attach/detach and location management), logical linkmanagement, and authentication and charging functions. The serving node150 stores location information and user profiles of all subscribersregistered with the serving node 150. Functions the serving node 150typically performs include GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) tunneling ofpackets, performing mobility management as user equipment moves from onebasestation to the next, and billing user data.

In a typical 3G network, the gateway node 160 is a GGSN, which is shortfor gateway GPRS support node. The gateway node 160 is responsible forthe interworking between the mobile core network and external networks.From the viewpoint of the external networks 180, gateway node 160 is arouter to a sub-network, because the gateway node 160 “hides” the corenetwork infrastructure from the external network. When the gateway node160 receives data from an external network (such as internet 180)addressed to a specific subscriber, it forwards the data to the servingnode 150 serving the subscriber. For inactive subscribers paging isinitiated. The gateway node 160 also handles routing packets originatedfrom the user equipment 110A to the appropriate external network. Asanchor point the gateway node 160 supports the mobility of the userequipment 110A. In essence, the gateway node 160 maintains routingnecessary to tunnel the network packets to the serving node 150 thatservices a particular user equipment 110A.

The gateway node 160 converts the packets coming from the serving node150 into the appropriate packet data protocol (PDP) format (e.g., IP orX.25) and sends them out on the corresponding external network. In theother direction, PDP addresses of incoming data packets from theexternal network 180 are converted to the address of the subscriber'suser equipment 110A. The readdressed packets are sent to the responsibleserving node 150. For this purpose, the gateway node 160 stores thecurrent serving node address of the subscriber and his or her profile.The gateway node 160 is responsible for IP address assignment and is thedefault router for the subscriber's user equipment 110A. The gatewaynode 160 also performs authentication, charging and subscriber policyfunctions. One example of a subscriber policy function is “fair use”bandwidth limiting and blocking of particular traffic types such as peerto peer traffic. Another example of a subscriber policy function isdegradation to a 2G service level for a prepaid subscriber when theprepaid balance is zero.

A next hop router located in the operator service network (OSN) 170receives messages from the gateway node 160, and routes the trafficeither to the operator service network 170 or via an internet serviceprovider (ISP) towards the internet 180. The operator service network170 typically includes business logic that determines how the subscribercan use the mobile data network 100. The business logic that providesservices to subscribers may be referred to as a “walled garden”, whichrefers to a closed or exclusive set of services provided forsubscribers, including a carrier's control over applications, contentand media on user equipment.

Devices using mobile data networks often need to access an externalnetwork, such as the internet 180. As shown in FIG. 1, when a subscriberenters a request for data from the internet, that request is passed fromthe user equipment 110A to tower 120, to NodeB 130 in basestation 122,to radio network controller 140, to serving node 150, to gateway node160, to operator service network 170, and to internet 180. When therequested data is delivered, the data traverses the entire network fromthe internet 180 to the user equipment 110A. The capabilities of knownmobile data networks 100 are taxed by the ever-increasing volume of databeing exchanged between user equipment 110A and the internet 180 becauseall data between the two have to traverse the entire network.

Various efforts have been made to offload internet traffic to reduce thebackhaul on the mobile data network. FIG. 1 illustrates a service/clientbased architecture for a carrier or communication service provider (CSP)to offload internet traffic over WiFi to reduce the backhaul on themobile data network. The UE 110B communicates with a WiFi access point190 which is connected to a ASF server 192. The ASF server 192 isconnected to the internet 180 through the OSN 170. The UE 110B includesa UE client 194 to communicate with the ASF server 192. The limitationsof this system include no policy based billing and no support forseamless switchover with PCC (e.g. QoS) between the mobile data networkand the WiFi network.

Other methods for offload include a node called a HomeNodeB that is partof the radio access network. Many homes have access to high-speedInternet, such as Direct Subscriber Line (DSL), cable television,wireless, etc. For example, in a home with a DSL connection, theHomeNodeB takes advantage of the DSL connection by routing Internettraffic to and from the user equipment directly to the DSL connection,instead of routing the Internet traffic through the mobile data network.While this may be an effective way to offload Internet traffic to reducebackhaul, the HomeNodeB architecture makes it difficult to provide manymobile network services such as lawful interception, mobility, andcharging consistently with the 3G or 4G mobile data network. Anotherprior art method which provides a carrier with a standardizedarchitecture for 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) based WiFiOffload is illustrated in the 3GPP Technical Specification 23.402Architecture Enhancements for Non 3GPP accesses (Release 11). Thisarchitecture is similar to FIG. 1 but uses a clientless WiFi accessgateway in the place of the client based ASF server.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile data system 200 thatprovides service awareness and seamless switchover of user device (UE)between a mobile data network and a wireless network. The mobile datasystem 200 has many of the same elements as the prior art mobile datasystem 100 and uses the same item numbers for common elements. As in theprior art, a UE 100A communicates with a RAN 102, where the RAN 102 inthis figure is simplified to a single element. The RAN 102 is connectedto a SGSN 150. The SGSN 150 is connected to a modified GGSN that isreferred to herein as a WiFi GGSN 202. The WiFi GGSN 202 is connected tothe OSN 170 and the internet 180. The WiFi GGSN 202 is described furtherbelow. A UE 210 has a UE client 212 that communicates with a hot spot orWiFi access point 190. The WiFi access point 190 is connected to an autoswitching function (ASF) server 214. The ASF server 214 is connected tothe WiFi GGSN 160 and the OSN 170.

FIG. 2 illustrates service awareness and seamless switchover between amobile data network and a wireless network. The UE 210 performs a setupcommunication over the mobile data network with the RAN 102 to startnetwork communications. The setup communication is used to create a PDPcontext and ASF tunnel 216. The ASF tunnel 216 is a GPRS TunnelingProtocol User Plane (GTP-U) based connection extending from the UEclient 210 up to the ASF server 212. The setup communication isdescribed further below with reference to FIG. 4. The UE client alsosets up a WiFi tunnel 218 from the UE 210 to the ASF server 212 throughthe WiFi AP 190 over the wireless network. With these two tunnels setup, the ASF server 214 can seamlessly switch data between the mobiledata network and the wireless network to communicate 220 to the internet180. The ASF server and the UE client together determine whether to usethe ASF tunnel (GTP U included) 216 or the WiFi tunnel 218. The ASFserver may send to the UE client a command like ‘now use the 3G tunnel’and upon receiving this command the UE client would use the portassociated with the 3G connection of the mobile network. Upon thespecified APN the mobile data core network entity can recognize andprocess this ASF related traffic and apply policies, for example,maintain the QoS parameter of the session.

In the setup communication introduced above, the UE client 212 uses aspecial access point name (APN) 222 when creating the PDP session. Thespecial APN 222 can be used by the SGSN 150 to route the ASF servertraffic to a specific GGSN (‘WiFi GGSN’) that is connected to the ASFserver. The ASF server traffic is proprietary and therefore notunderstood by a normal GGSN. The WiFi GGSN uses a dedicated ASF deeppacket inspection (ASF DPI) 224 for all data transfers to the specialAPN to monitor the ASF traffic. The mobile data core network componentis then able to monitor the UE data traffic as the traffic is toggledbetween the ASF tunnel and the WiFi tunnel. By using DPI on all datatraffic on the ASF tunnel using the special APN, the mobile data corecomponent (GGSN/PGW) is able to provide PCC for the data session as theUE moves from the WiFi network to the mobile data network to become“service aware”. It is important to note that there can be many GGSNs inthe mobile data network even though only a single GGSN 160 is shown inthe figures. Using the special APN thus allows WiFi GGSN boxes to beadded to the mobile data network to support the ASF server whileallowing the existing GGSN boxes in the system to remain unchanged.Alternatively existing GGSN boxes can be upgraded and reconfigured asdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram which illustrates additional details of themobile data network with seamless switchover introduced in FIG. 2. TheWiFi GGSN 202 connects to a billings function 302, a policy and chargingrules function (PCRF) 304, an operation and maintenance (OAM) function306 and a remote authentication dial in user service (Radius) server308. Internally, the WiFi GGSN 202 includes an ASF deep packetinspection (DPI) function 224, a policy and charging enforcementfunction (PCEF) 310 and a charging function 312. The WiFi GGSNinterfaces to an Online Charging System (OCS) and a Charging GatewayFunction (CGF) in the billing function 302, and a Policy ControlResource Function (PCRF) 304 in the manner known in the prior art. Inaddition, the WiFi GGSN 202 includes other functions of a typical GGSNknown in the prior art.

Again referring to FIG. 3 we will now consider some of the interfaceconnections to the WiFi GGSN 202 and the ASF server 214. The WiFi GGSN202 is connected to the SGSN 150 on a standard 3GPP Gn interface 314.The Gn interface 314 carries signaling and non-ASF traffic according tothe prior art, and ASF traffic as described herein. The WiFi GGSN isconnected to the billings function 302, the policy and charging rulesfunction (PCRF) 304, the operation and maintenance (OAM) function 306,the Radius server 308, and the OSN 170 in the normal manner. The WiFi APto ASF interface 316 is similar to the prior art and contains the UEdata traffic that is routed to the ASF server 214. The ASF server 214 isconnected to the WiFi GGSN 202 with a lightweight authentication,authorization, and accounting (AAA) interface 318 and a Gi interface320. The ASF sever 214 receives start/stop accounting messages over thelightweight AAA interface 318. The Gi interface 320 carries ASF trafficbetween the ASF server 214 and the WiFi GGSN 202. The ASF sever 214routes UE traffic to the OSN/internet over the Gi interface 322.

The WiFi GGSN 202 interfaces to the PCRF 304 for policy rule control andenforcement interaction. The PCRF 304 is used by the network operator tocontrol the behavior of the network as in the prior art. The PCRF 304can also include new policies and rules as described herein for datadetected by the ASF DPI 224. The enforcement can influence the PDPcontext (QoS/context modification). Generally, policies can be global,time based, regionally based, service or application based, subscriberbased, based on PDP context, protocol based, layer level specific, or acombination of these.

The WiFi GGSN and the ASF server store information to correlate dataflows or enforce policies. The WiFi GGSN may store the followinginformation: PDP context session data (Tunnel Endpoint Identifier(TEID)), SGSN address, APN, UE IP address, QoS), subscriber data(International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI)), Mobile StationInternational Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), and ASF contextinformation (ASF virtual IP address). Further the ASF server may storethe following information: ASF context (ASF virtual IP address, UE IPaddress), subscriber data (IMSI, MSISDN), Radio Access Type(RAT)=2G/3G/4G or WiFi, and location area code (LAC) of the ASF clienton UE.

The use of the above parameters stored by the WiFi GGSN and the ASFsever may be implementation and integration specific, and depend on theoperators network requirements. Storage of the above parameters may beused to implement specific policies related to the data traffic on theASF tunnel. For example, by storing the Radio Access Type, a policycould be implemented to perform ASF server switching to a WiFiconnection only for 3G networks and not for 2G networks. This can beimplemented globally (for all subscribers using ASF, within a region oroutside busy hours) or subscriber specific (based on subscription). Fora subscriber specific policy, the WiFi GGSN receives the subscriberspecific policy from the PCRF and triggers the ASF to implement thedesired behavior for the specific subscriber. The ASF would apply thatpolicy on the associated ASF virtual IP address that represents thesubscriber.

In another example of implementing specific policies, the MSISDN can beadded into an HTTP header field in an IP packet (sometimes known asheader enrichment). With the MISIDN in the header field, a specificapplication in the internet or OSN can correlate IP traffic with thesubscriber. This could be done to provide a service such as adultcontent filtering. In this example the policy is a global function,which provides processing functions to correlate subscribers withservice calls. At the OSN/Internet end of the communication, only theASF IP address will be visible and not the GGSN or WiFi AP IP address.The stored ASF virtual IP address may be used to implement this type andother types of policies. In this case, the ASF server can associate anASF virtual IP address with a MSISDN to identify IP packets with theMSISDN in the header field that meet the criteria of the policy.

The Radius server needs to be updated with subscriber information forcharging. One possible implementation to update the Radius server iswhenever a PDP context with the special APN is created. The IP addressof the UE visible to the internet is the ASF virtual IP address assignedby the ASF server (different than the UE IP address assigned by the WiFiGGSN). The WiFi GGSN needs to send the information about this ASFvirtual IP address together with the MSISDN to the Radius server of theOSN (Radius Start Account Request). It is assumed that the Radius serverof the OSN is able to handle for the same subscriber and PDP contextmore than one IP address in parallel.

The WiFi GGSN 202 supports the handling and routing of the traffic usingthe dedicated APN. The WiFi GGSN 202 acts as a normal GGSN for other APNand routes this traffic directly to the OSN. Normally an IP addressallocated by a GGSN to UE is different from the IP address allocated bya WiFi AP. In this case with an ASF tunnel constructed between the UEand ASF server 202 through the WiFi GGSN, the UE will be allocated avirtual IP address by ASF server, and the virtual IP address will bekept the same even while UE's physical IP address is changed because ofswitching from mobile network to WLAN. On switching the subscriberpackets on the UE connection, the PDP/IP session will be kept the same.Session persistence should be supported by the ASF server 214. In thecase where UE traffic arrives via WiFi access, the traffic flow is asfollows: UE←WiFi-AP←AFS Server←OSN←Internet.

In 3GPP based mobile networks, it is necessary to support offlinecharging and online charging. Historically this has been done withvolume and time based charging that did not require inspection of IPtraffic. According to the newest rule and flow based billingarchitectures of the recent 3GPP standards, the IP traffic needs to beinspected. With IP data traffic flowing through the ASF tunnel asdescribed herein, the rule and flow based charging methods cannotcapture this ASF data traffic. By using the ASF DPI function 224, theWiFi GGSN is able to support rule and flow based billing for dataflowing in the ASF tunnel using the special ASF APN. As introducedabove, deep packet inspection is done by the ASF DPI function 224. Thus,for the ASF related user traffic, after GTP-U decapsulation the ASF DPIfunction 224 is able to detect and understand a broad variety of layer 3to layer 7 of the 3GPP protocols for further processing (3GPP contentawareness) in the manner known in the prior art. In contrast to theprior art, for ASF traffic, the ASF DPI function 224 handles andunderstands the ASF server's tunnel protocol. The ASF DPI function 224detects the application protocols of the ASF tunneled content from layer3 to 7 similar to the prior art DPI function. It can be assumed that alltraffic via the dedicated ASF APN belongs to ASF tunneled connectionsonly. For non ASF related user traffic using other APNs, the prior artDPI function (not shown) performs the required actions.

There are at least two possible methods to connect the ASF server intothe mobile data network with a WiFi GGSN. First it is possible to have aloosely coupled solution between the new WiFi GGSN and the ASF serverwith all interactions as external interfaces. In this method the WiFiGGSN sees the ASF server like a second OSN on the Gi interface. Thesecond method is an integrated solution. In the integrated solution theAFS server becomes part of the WiFi GGSN internal flow. In this methodthe ASF server would look similar to a virtual private network (VPN)termination point inside the WiFi GGSN for the ASF traffic. Thedescription herein is limited to the first method but the claims hereinexpressly cover the integrated method as well.

A fixed IP address for the ASF Server is supplied from the UE client forrouting purposes. Upon communication setup (PDP Context Activation asdescribed below) the ASF Server generates an ASF virtual IP address. TheASF server uses network address translation (NATing) with the ASFvirtual IP address for data sent to/from the internet or OSN. In thesetup communication an IP address is also allocated by the GGSN, whichis different from the IP address allocated by Access Point (AP) to theUE. Therefore, when the ASF tunnel is built up between UE and ASFserver, the UE will be allocated to the ASF virtual IP address towardsthe OSN/internet by the ASF server and this virtual IP address will beretained even if the UE's physical IP address is toggled because ofswitching from the mobile network tunnel to the WiFi tunnel connection.The IP sessions are maintained so that the subscriber can be switchedback and forth between the tunnels while providing service aware policyand charging control (PCC) of the data session in the mobile datanetwork.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates the setup communication for afirst packet of data to setup for switchover as described above. Theentities that are the source and destination of the data and control areshown at the top of the chart. These entities are the same entitiesshown in FIG. 3. The entities include: user equipment (UE) client 212,UE 210, WiFi GGSN 202, ASF server 214, PCRF 304, Radius server 308 andinternet 180. The method herein uses flows and interfaces with theOnline Charging System (OCS), Charging Gateway Function (CGF) and thePolicy Control Resource Function (PCRF) in the manner know in the priorart. The setup flow begins with an attach procedure initiated by the UEin the manner known in the prior art (step 1). The UE 210 also opens theUE client 212 (step 2). After being attached to the mobile network, theUE sends an Activate PDP Context Request to the WiFi GGSN using thespecial APN described above (step 3). The WiFi GGSN then sends a CCRInit message (step 4) and waits for a CCR Ack message from the PCRF(step 5). Radius dialogs are then triggered from the UE and executedbetween the WiFi GGSN and the Radius server 308 (step 6). Chargingdialogs are also triggered from the UE executed between the WiFi GGSNand an Online Charging System (OCS) located in the billings function 302(FIG. 3) (step 7). The Radius dialogs and the charging dialogs are doneas in the prior art to set up subscriber services with the Radiusserver. The WiFi GGSN 202 sends an Activate PDP Context Accept messageto the UE (step 8). The WiFi GGSN then sends a Radius Accounting Startmessage which is copied to the ASF server (step 9) and the ASF serversends a Radius Accounting Ack message back to the WiFi GGSN (step 10).At this point a PDP context is established between the UE and the WiFiGGSN (step 11). Inside the PDP context, the UE client and the ASF sendASF tunnel traffic (step 12). The ASF server sends a Radius StartAccount Request message to the Radius sever (step 13) and the Radiusserver sends a Radius Ack message back to the ASF server (step 14). Themessages of step 9 and step 13 together synchronize the IP packet flowbetween the WiFi GGSN and the ASF server and the WiFi GGSN and theRadius server. For example, if the subscriber has used up his quota themobile session can be terminated. The ASF tunnel traffic includes payload data sent using the proprietary data format of the ASF server (step15).

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for service awareness andseamless switchover in a mobile data network. The method begins byproviding an ASF server connected to a WiFi GGSN where the ASF serverreceives ASF traffic from a UE over a WiFi network (step 510). Next, anASF client in the UE that communicates to the ASF server through theWiFi GGSN with a special ASF APN is provided (step 520). The WiFi GGSNdetects the special ASF APN and routes corresponding PDP contexts to theASF server (step 530). The ASF sever switches ASF traffic from WiFinetwork to the mobile data network to communicate between the ASF serverand the UE Client (step 540). The WiFi GGSN applies a dedicated DPI tomonitor the ASF traffic at the WiFi GGSN (step 550). The WiFi GGSNapplies PCC to the monitored ASF traffic to provide service aware andseamless switching (step 560). The method is then done.

While the mobile data network 200 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 and describedherein is in the context of a 3G mobile data network, the disclosure andclaims herein expressly extend to other networks as well, including LongTerm Evolution (LTE) networks, flat RAN networks, code division multipleaccess (CDMA) networks, and other networks developed in the future.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an LTE/4G mobile data network 600 thatprovides seamless switchover of a UE between a mobile data network and awireless network. Mobile data network 600 is representative of knownflat mobile data networks (such as 3GPP LTE, LTE Advanced, and 4G). Themobile data network 600 preferably includes a radio access network(RAN), a core network, and an external network similar to the 2G/3Gnetwork shown in FIG. 1. The radio access network includes the tower120, basestation 122 with a corresponding eNodeB 610, and a radiointerface on an Internet Protocol Security gateway (IP SEC GW) 612. Thecore network includes the IP SEC GW 612, a mobility management entity(MME) 614, a serving gateway (SGW) 616, a home subscriber server (HSS)616, a public data network gateway (PDN gateway or PGW) 618 and anoperator service network (OSN) 620 (as part of the mobile data network).These components in the core network together are sometimes referred toas the evolved packet core (EPC). The EPC serves as the equivalent ofthe general packet radio service (GPRS) network in 3G networks. Theexternal network includes any suitable network such as the internet 180.The LTE mobile data network 600 includes a UE 210 with a UE client 212and ASF APN 222 as described above. Further, the LTE mobile data network600 includes a ASF server 214 connected to the PGW 618 with an ASF DPI224. These entities function as described in detail above for the 2G/3Gmobile data network. The UE client 212 sets up a tunnel over the mobiledata network through the IP SEC GW 612, the SGW 616 to the PGW 618.Similarly to above, the UE client 212 also sets up a GTP-U based datatunnel through the WiFi AP 190 to the ASF server 214. In contrast to theabove example, in the LTE mobile data network 600 the ASF DPI 224 isdone in the PGW 618.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language, StreamsProcessing language, or similar programming languages. Java is aregistered trademark of Oracle America, Inc. The program code mayexecute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer,as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer andpartly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer orserver. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected tothe user's computer through any type of network, including a local areanetwork (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may bemade to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using anInternet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The methods disclosed herein may be performed as part of providing aweb-based service. Such a service could include, for example, offeringthe method to online users in exchange for payment. In addition, theservice could be divided among various different service providers. Forexample, multiple providers of mobile data networks could each providedifferent pieces of the mobile data network disclosed herein thatcooperate together to provide the functions disclosed herein.

The disclosure and claims are directed to a system and method forproviding seamless switchover of user equipment (UE) between a mobiledata network and a wireless network while providing policy and chargingcontrol (PCC) of the data session in the mobile data network. A corenetwork component processes user data traffic related to an autoswitching function (ASF) server from a UE client located on the UE usinga special access point name (APN). The core network component then usesa dedicated deep packet inspection (DPI) for all data transfers to thespecial APN. The core network component is then able to process the UEdata traffic seamlessly as the traffic is toggled between an ASF tunneland a WiFi tunnel. By monitoring the data traffic on the ASF tunnel, thecore component (GGSN/PGW) is able to provide PCC for the data session asthe UE moves from the WiFi network to the mobile data network.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possiblewithin the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure isparticularly shown and described above, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims. For example, the disclosure and claims herein expressly extendto any suitable networks, including 3G networks, Long Term Evolution(LTE) networks, flat RAN networks, and code division multiple access(CDMA) networks.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for providing service awareness to auto switching function (ASF) data traffic in a mobile data network, the method comprising steps of: providing an ASF server connected to a core network component of a core network of the mobile data network, wherein the ASF server is also connected to a wireless access point that receives wireless communications with a user equipment (UE) and the wireless access point communicates ASF data traffic from the UE on a wireless tunnel; providing an ASF client in the UE that communicates with the ASF server through the core network component using a special ASF access point name (APN) on an ASF tunnel; the core network component detecting the special ASF APN and routing corresponding data traffic to the ASF server; the core network component applying a dedicated deep packet inspection to the ASF tunnel to identify all data traffic having the special ASF APN on the ASF tunnel; and in response to applying the dedicated deep packet inspection to the ASF tunnel, the core network component applying policy and charging control to all data traffic identified as having the special ASF APN.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of the ASF server switching ASF data traffic from the wireless tunnel to the ASF tunnel.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the core network component is a gateway GPRS (general packet radio service) support node (GGSN).
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the core network component is a packet data network gateway (PGW) in a long term evolution (LTE) mobile data network.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of the ASF server and the ASF client together determining whether to use the ASF tunnel or the wireless tunnel to send data from the UE to the ASF server.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of the ASF client processing data traffic to the ASF server seamlessly with service awareness as the data traffic is toggled between the ASF tunnel and the wireless tunnel.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of the ASF sever storing ASF context information including an ASF virtual internet protocol (IP) address to enforce one or more policies.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the ASF server further stores information comprising UE internet protocol address, subscriber data (an International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI)), and a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), Radio Access Type (RAT) and location area code (LAC) of the ASF client on the UE.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the ASF tunnel is a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U) tunnel carrying ASF server data traffic.
 10. A method for providing service awareness to ASF data traffic a mobile data network, the method comprising the steps of: providing an auto switching function (ASF) server connected to a wireless gateway general packet radio service support node (WiFi GGSN) of a core network of the mobile data network, wherein the ASF server is also connected to a wireless access point that receives wireless communications with a user equipment (UE) and the wireless access point communicates ASF data traffic from the UE on a wireless tunnel; providing an ASF client in the UE that communicates with the ASF server through the WiFi GGSN using a special ASF access point name (APN) on an ASF tunnel; the WiFi GGSN detecting the special ASF APN and routing corresponding data traffic to the ASF server; the ASF server switching ASF data traffic from the wireless tunnel to the ASF tunnel; the WiFi GGSN applying a dedicated deep packet inspection to the ASF tunnel to identify all data traffic having the special ASF APN on the ASF tunnel; in response to applying the dedicated deep packet inspection to the ASF tunnel, the WiFi GGSN applying policy and charging control to all data traffic identified as having the special ASF APN; and the ASF sever storing ASF context information including an ASF virtual internet protocol (IP) address to enforce one or more policies. 